Old English Scottas (plural) "inhabitants of Ireland, Irishmen," from Late Latin Scotti (c. 400), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Celtic (but answering to no known tribal name; Irish Scots appears to be a Latin borrowing). The name followed the Irish tribe which invaded Scotland 6c. C.E. after the Romans withdrew from Britain, and after the time of Alfred the Great the Old English word described only the Irish who had settled in the northwest of Britain.

"of Scotland," 1590s, contraction of Scottish. Disdained by the Scottish because of the many insulting and pejorative formations made from it by the English (such as Scotch greys "lice;" Scotch attorney, a Jamaica term from 1864 for strangler vines).

Scotch-Irish is from 1744 (adj.); 1789 (n.); more properly Scots-Irish (1966), from Scots (mid-14c.), the older adjective, which is from Scottis, the northern variant of Scottish. Scots (adj.) was used in Scottish until 18c., then Scotch became vernacular, but in mid-19c. there was a reaction against it. Scotch Tape was said to be so called because at first it had adhesive only on the edges (to make it easier to remove as a masking tape in car paint jobs), which was interpreted as a sign of cheapness on the part of the manufacturers.

named for the Scots, who settled there from Ireland 5c.-6c.; their name is of unknown origin (see Scot). Latin Scotia began to appear 9c. as the name for the region, replacing older Caledonia, also named for the inhabitants at the time, whose name likewise is of unknown origin.

used for "London Metropolitan Police," 1864, from the name of short street off Whitehall, London; where from 1829 to 1890 stood the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Force, hence, the force itself, especially the detective branch. After 1890, located in "New Scotland Yard."

1580s, skowndrell, of unknown origin. One suggestion is Anglo-French escoundre (Old French escondre) "to hide, hide oneself," from Vulgar Latin *excondere, from Latin condere "to hide" (see abscond). The main objection to this theory is that hundreds of years lie between the two words.

"cleanse by hard rubbing," c. 1200, from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren "to polish, to clean," and from Old French escurer, both from Late Latin excurare "clean off," literally "take good care of," from Latin ex- "out" (see ex-) + curare "care for, take care of" (see cure (v.)). Possibly originally a technical term among Flemish workmen in England. Related: Scoured; scouring. As a noun, 1610s, from the verb.

c. 1200, "a whip, lash," from Anglo-French escorge, back-formation from Old French escorgier "to whip," from Vulgar Latin *excorrigiare, from Latin ex- "out, off" (see ex-) + corrigia "thong, shoelace," in this case "whip," probably from a Gaulish word related to Old Irish cuimrech "fetter," from PIE root *reig- "to bind" (see rig (v.)). Figurative use from late 14c. Scourge of God, title given by later generations to Attila the Hun (406-453 C.E.), is attested from late 14c., from Latin flagellum Dei.

1840, short for lobscouse "a sailor's stew made of meat, vegetables, and hardtack," of uncertain origin (compare loblolly); transferred sense of "native or inhabitant of Liverpool" (where the stew is a characteristic dish) is recorded from 1945. In reference to the regional dialect, from 1963. Related: Scouser (1959).

Lobscouse. A dish much eaten at sea, composed of salt beef, biscuit and onions, well peppered, and stewed together. [Grose, "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1788]

1580s (intransitive), perhaps a nasalized variant of scrabble (v.), in its sense of "to struggle, to scrape quickly." Transitive sense "to stir or toss together randomly" is from 1822. Broadcasting sense "to make unintelligible" is attested from 1927. Related: Scrambled; scrambling. Scrambled eggs first recorded 1843.

"thin, meager," 1630s; any modern use traces to Milton ("Lycidas," 124), who may have invented it out of dialectal scranny (see scrawny). Or it might be from a Scandinavian source akin to Norwegian skran "rubbish." Compare English dialectal and Scottish skran "scraps, broken victuals; refuse," in military slang "food."

"small piece," late 14c., from Old Norse skrap "scraps, trifles," from skrapa "to scrape, scratch, cut" (see scrape (v.)). Meaning "remains of metal produced after rolling or casting" is from 1790. Scrap iron first recorded 1794.

early 13c., probably from Old Norse skrapa "to scrape, erase," from Proto-Germanic *skrapojan (cognates: Old English scrapian "to scrape," Dutch schrapen, German schrappen), from PIE *skerb-, extension of root *(s)ker- "to cut" (see shear (v.)). Meaning "gather by great effort, collect with difficulty" is from 1540s. Related: Scraped; scraping. To scrape the bottom of the barrel in figurative sense is from 1942, in reference to U.S. employers facing worker shortages during the war.

mid-15c., "a scraping instrument;" late 15c., "act of scraping or scratching," from scrape (v.). Meaning "a shave" is slang from 1859. Meaning "embarrassing or awkward predicament" is recorded from 1709, as OED suggests, "probably from the notion of being 'scraped' in going through a narrow passage."

"scraps of pork and cornmeal seasoned, boiled, and pressed into large cakes," 1850, probably a diminutive form of scrap (n.1) with -el (2). Noted especially, and perhaps originally, as a regional favorite dish in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.